Urban Jungle

As food prices soar, could a project that saw fruit and vegetables grown in town-centre planters and parks be a blueprint for the future?

Urban Farming Initiative, Middlesbrough, England, U.K.
Article in The Guardian, March 26, 2008

“People visiting Middlesbrough last year may have wondered why there were radishes and pumpkins being grown where they might have expected to see carnations and dahlias. All over the town, disused urban spaces were turned into fertile corners bursting with freshly grown fruit and vegetables as more than 1,000 residents took part in a project aimed at changing the way they think about food. This year, the results could be even more spectacular.

“The idea of the urban farming project was to make people more aware of food miles, improve health and aid regeneration of the borough, which contains the ninth most deprived area in the UK. Groundwork South Tees advised schools, mental health hospitals, residential care homes and retailers on planting and growing many varieties of herbs, vegetables and fruit. Containers of different sizes were used so people could cultivate whatever space they had.”

Full article is here “Urban Jungle”.

Organizer David Barrie says: “The message is that participatory urban agriculture is now a phenomenom in post-industrial England: and not on account of World War!”

Further Reading:

Food: The Ultimate Design Challenge?